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Cuba making easier for Americans to visit

Published on : Monday, October 30, 2017

Cuba is making it easier for its U.S. citizens to travel to the island, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said, in a gesture to win support from Cuban Americans during a diplomatic crisis that has happened over allegations of mysterious health attacks in Cuba.

He said that the Cuban citizens in the United States of America would no longer need to have a special review of their Cuban passports to relocate them before traveling to the island.

Rodriguez said that the process had become more difficult due to staff shortages at the Cuban embassy after the U.S. government expelled about 15 Cuban diplomats this month due to the dispute over the mystery attacks on U.S. personnel in Cuba.

While the United States has not formally accused Cuba of carrying out what it says are attacks that have caused hearing loss and cognitive issues in its diplomats, President Donald Trump said last week Havana was responsible. Cuban government officials accused Trump this week of slandering their country.

Tension over the alleged attacks, some of which involved high-pitched sounds, came after Trump said in June he wanted to partially roll back the historic detente between the United States and Cuba, ordering tighter restrictions on travel and trade. Rodriguez said Cuba was making it easier for the children of Cubans in the United States to attain Cuban nationality and allowing Cuban Americans to travel to the country on cruise ships that embark at two ports on Cuba.